The Chief Executive Officer of Ghana Investment Promotion Centre’s (GIPC), Yofi Grant has underscored the need for Ghana to refocus on agriculture saying, it will shape the fortunes of the country. Speaking at the USAID FinGap Agric and Agribusiness Investment Forum on how to create opportunities along the agricultural value chain, Tuesday, Mr Grant noted that refocusing on agriculture will ensure food security, alleviate poverty and also improve the growth of the country’s gross domestic product (GDP).

He expressed worry on Ghana’s performance in agriculture over the years, indicating it is not befitting of a country which was known for its exploits in the sector. “I read somewhere that a nation that cannot feed itself is a nation at risk. As we stand here, indeed, we do not feed ourselves. Many years ago, agriculture was the headline of our economy. 60 years after independence, although we claim to be agricultural nation, agriculture’s growth to GPD has been trending downwards year after year. Agricultural growth has virtually gone in the negative; yet, last year, we imported food to the tune of 2.2 billion dollars. That can never be a satisfactory position especially when we have 8 million hectors of arable land lying fallow in the northern parts of Ghana.

“We import over 600 million dollars of rice, not to mention sugar when we have all the necessary inputs that can make us self-sufficient. Almost every bit of research on Africa has stated that for the continent to make it, agriculture must lead the way. So we need to refocus,” he noted. Highlighting what ought to be done to improve productivity, Grant said there was the need to invest and mechanise agriculture, boost irrigation, help farmers to adopt more scientific, reliable ways of farming as well as implementing policies which affect the sector.

He indicated that the government is putting in place a national addressing system “that relies on digital mapping through searchlight such that every square meter in this country has a digital address. That will enable proper mapping and proper use of lands and try and separate ownership from usage.” Grant however expressed happiness over the level of investment, as he asserted that it will boost the confidence of farmers.

“Many finance people think agriculture is the most difficult place to finance. Yes, it is. If there are no necessary interventions to make it scientific and therefore predictable, then it’s difficult. But if you can do the other inputs, then financing agriculture is not as difficult as it should be,” he said.

Source: ghanaweb.com

President Nana Addo Dankwa Akufo-Addo, Tuesday, assured the business community of the security of their investments in Ghana, and asked the private sector to harness the opportunities inherent in the business climate. He said with his Administration’s policies geared towards facilitating business and industrial growth, and positioning Ghana as the most business and people-friendly economy on the continent, a formidable public-private partnership was the most viable way of building a competitive economy.

This transformed economy, he said, would drive sustained growth and prosperity for Ghanaians. Addressing a Caribbean Trade Mission, which called on him at the Flagstaff House, in Accra, he said: “We are trying to build a strong economy with a strong emphasis on the private sector that can help us deliver a divinities standard of living for the mass of our people. The Trade Mission is in Ghana to participate in the three-day Trade Summit that runs from September 26 to September 28, 2017.

The Summit, aimed at facilitating and deepening trade links between Ghana and the Caribbean, is under the theme: “Promoting Trade and Investment- Ghana and the Caribbean”. President Akufo-Addo said his Government was focused on creating a stable and competitive fiscal regime to make Ghanaian businesses competitive, strengthening the private sector to ensure it played a major role in the rapid development of Ghana and instituting the required policy framework to facilitate the structural transformation of the country.

“And in this scenario we think that there are two things that are critical. Firstly, strengthening[G1]  the private sector by creating a micro economy that is stable with low interest rates, low rate of inflation, stable currency and a competitive fiscal regime that will enable Ghanaian enterprises and those operating from here to be competitive within Ghana, competitive within West Africa and within the world,” he added. “And then secondly putting in place a policy framework that will enable us to facilitate a structural transformation of our economy,” he stated.

President Akufo-Addo expressed his resolve to ensure that Ghana obtained optimum benefits from its rich natural through value-addition, saying that Ghana had no future continuing the export of raw materials. He said that resolving the country’s infrastructural deficit and achieving the long-term development plan of the country called for value addition and an increase in the literacy rate in Ghana. The implementation of the Free Senior High School by his Government, he said, would afford every Ghanaian the opportunity to attain at least high school education fully funded by the state.

“We are making a bold attempt to make sure that everybody in Ghana can have access to education at least to the level of secondary school.” President Akufo-Addo also stated that his Government’s commitment to clearing the outstanding debts of the National Health Insurance Scheme [G2] to enable that critical social intervention to function effectively. The Government, he said, had settled about GH¢560 million out of the total GH¢1.2 billion debt it owed the scheme, assuring that within the next twelve months, the outstanding balance would be cleared to make way for the smooth operation of the scheme.

Mr Anthony Jordan, the Acting Managing Director of HFC Bank, who led the delegation, commended the President for his commitment to ensuring a friendly business environment. He said the Trade Mission was committed to the Government’s agenda for rapid development of the Ghana. “Our main objective is to support your agenda of a private sector driven economy by using our presence both in the Caribbean and in Ghana to facilitate long-term trade and investments,” he said, noting that the business summit in Ghana offered a unique opportunity to expose investment avenues for Caribbean business people.

 Source: ghananewsagency.org

The Ministry of Finance has reversed the tax exemption policy that required exempted companies to pay import duties and later request a refund. This action follows persistent backlash from members of the business community who described the earlier action of the ministry as disturbing.The ministry had explained that the policy, which was introduced in April 2017, was to help check abuses in the tax exemption system and sanitise it.

However, five months after its introduction, the ministry has reversed it after concerns of its illegality and the strains that it put on the working capital of the exempted companies. The Deputy Minister of Finance, Mr Kwaku Kwarteng, at a press conference in Accra said the ministry was conscious of the fact that many genuine exemption holders had very legitimate concerns about being asked to provisionally pay import duties and taxes for which they are exempted as it posed avoidable cash flow burdens on their finances.

“In our recent consultations with stakeholders, we have better understood the weaknesses in our exemptions regime, and we are in a better position to deal with the shortcomings in ways that pose less cost to genuine businesses and exemption holders,” he stated. “As such, government has decided to discontinue the requirement for exemption holders to provisionally pay the import duty and taxes upfront and apply for a refund later,” he added.

Per the status quo, he said the following documentation should be attached to the application for the exemption: The basis for the exemption (that is by which law, or by which parliamentary resolution?), recommendation letter from the relevant sector ministry or agency, Customs Classification and Valuation Report (CCVR) or Customs. Declaration Form, Import Declaration Form/eMDA, Tax Clearance Certificate (bearing the Tax Identification Number) and Bill of Lading or Airway Bills.

Others include commercial invoices, packing list, tax exemption assessment report (where required) and other supporting documents for special cases.

Increased revenue

Despite the reversal of the policy, Mr Kwaku Kwarteng said the policy had yielded positive results, with revenue from import duties rising steadily. Reports from the Ghana Revenue Authority (GRA) said for instance that GH¢7.22 million was received as import duty in the first eight months of the year, an increase over the GH¢5.95 million recorded during the same period in 2016.

Total tax exemption recorded in the first eight months of 2017 also amounted to GH¢1.22 million, representing 11 per cent of the total import duty collected within the period.

New measures

The deputy minister, however, pointed out that the government now appreciated the weaknesses in the tax exemption regime and had introduced new measures that would better deal with the shortcomings.He said exemption status would now not be transferrable and under no circumstance should any person or business be exempted from the payment of any import duty or import tax by virtue of its association or relationship with an exemption holder.

He added that no imported goods would also be exempted from the payment of import duties and taxes unless the original importer of the goods, as stated on the bill of lading or customs declaration, was an exemption holder or the goods were generally exempted from import duties and taxes by law. He stated that “these and many other measures that are all geared towards strengthening the country’s tax exemption regime will take effect from October 1, this year.”

Background

In the 2017 Budget Statement And Economic Policy, the government committed to a comprehensive review and reform of the import duty exemptions regime and tax reliefs, with a view to eliminating abuses and improving efficiency in the application of those incentives.

As an interim arrangement, and to facilitate the reforms, the Ministry of Finance instituted an administrative measure that required exemption holders to pay in advance all applicable import duties and taxes and apply for a refund with supporting evidence. This administrative measure took effect from April 1, 2017. However, some tax experts and industry players raised concerns about the illegality of the policy as they said it was an affront to Article 174 of the 1992 constitution and also posed cash flow challenges to exempted companies.

Source: graphic.com.gh

The Mexican Embassy in Accra is celebrating 207 years of the beginning of the independence of Mexico today, with an assurance that bilateral relationship with Ghana is strengthening.In just 29 months, since the re-opening of the embassy in Ghana, 10 business missions, made up of six from Mexico to Ghana and four from Ghana to Mexico, have taken place.

Bilateral trade started expanding to include new goods, while Mexican companies have shown interest in investing in Ghana, the Mexican Ambassador to Ghana, Mrs María De Los Ángeles Arriola Aguirre, said that in an exclusive interview on the celebrations with the Daily Graphic, at her office in Accra yesterday. She was happy to announce that the Ghana-Mexico Business and Cultural Chamber had been formally launched and attributed that to the keen vision and efforts of both Mexico and Ghana to deepen their economic relations.

From Friday, September 15 till Sunday, September 17, the ambassador announced that the Labadi Beach Hotel would host the Second Mexican Food Festival with the presence of the young and successful Chef Diego Isunza, and the performance by Mariachi Sol de America.She said, “As you all know, Mexican cuisine and mariachi music have been declared an intangible heritage to humanity by the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organisation (UNESCO).

During the last week of this month, she said, the embassy would host the Third Mexican Film festival at the Goethe Institute.
Mexico, she disclosed, had also been declared by the World Tourism Organisation (WTO), as the eighth world main tourist destination in 2016, for receiving 35 million visitors from all over the world.

“Thanks to effective policies to promote tourism together with our rich diversity, characterised by the variety of climates, natural resources, beaches, historic, anthropologic and colonial cities, wonderful music, excellent food and our warm and friendly people, which all combined makes Mexico a great and unique destination,” she stated. ‘We hope that soon, more people living in Ghana will feel attracted to visit our country and enjoy the magic of Mexico,” she added.

Mrs Arriola Aguirre pointed out that another step forward was the South-South bilateral cooperation in the educational field.She expressed the hope that as a result of the visit to Mexico by the University of Ghana, educational cooperation in areas of common interest such as academic exchanges, scholarships, research and technical collaboration will soon be established.

Every year, she noted, Ghanaian diplomats benefit from the academic programs offered by the Diplomatic School of the Mexican Ministry of Foreign Affairs, as well as members of the Ghana Revenue Authority (GRA) and the Bank of Ghana (BoG) from capacity building courses offered by the Mexican Ministry of Finance. She said Ghanaian students could also benefit from the 2018 and subsequent editions of Mexico’s Scholarship Program and said she hoped to personally have the opportunity to sign their visas.

Mexico Business Summit

Ambassador Arriola Aguirre announced that Ghana’s Minister of Trade and Industry, Mr Alan Kyerematen, would be heading a Ghanaian business delegation to participate in the 15th Edition of the Mexico Business Summit, the top-rated business forum in Latin America, which comes off next month.Under the theme “Defining Mexico’s Options” the summit will analyse the priorities for Mexico in the current international arena.

The annual summit will bring together leading business executives and investors from North America, Latin America, Asia and Europe. “This prestigious private sector summit,” the ambassador noted, “is strongly supported by the Mexican government.” In preparation for the Mexico Business Summit, the embassy yesterday organised a forum in Accra, which provided the opportunity for interested business executives/ investors in different areas to have some interaction with the Mexican Ambassador and Mr Kyerematen.

The business encounter provided the platform to explain the procedures involved in participating in the summit from the registration level through travel arrangements and the summit itself.

207th Independence Day

Ambassador Aguirre explained: “Mexico’s Independence Day (Día de la Independencia) is a Mexican holiday to celebrate the “Cry of Independence” that took place in September 1810, which started a revolt against the Spaniards.”

She said this followed the day of the Cry of Dolores (El Grito de Dolores).The day itself, she noted, which emphasises the unity of the Mexican people, would, therefore, celebrate the day Miguel Hidalgo was believed to have made the Cry of Independence/ the Cry of Dolores (El Grito de la Independencia) in the town of Dolores, in the north-central part of the Mexican state of Guanajuato.Hidalgo was one of the nation’s leaders during the War of Independence in Mexico.

There is no scholarly agreement on exactly what was said by Hidalgo, but his speech, also known as El Grito de Dolores, was made on September 16, 1810 to motivate people to revolt against the Spanish regime.Hidalgo’s army fought against the Spanish soldiers in the fight for independence, but he was captured and executed on July 30, 1811.This year’s celebration, which as usual will demonstrate Mexican food and music worldwide, will also include fireworks, parties (fiestas) and dance.Flags, flowers and decorations in the colours of the Mexican flag red, white and green, will be seen in public areas in cities and towns in Mexico.

Whistles and horns are expected to be blown and confetti thrown to celebrate the festive occasion. “Viva Mexico” or “Viva la independencia” will be shouted amid the crowds during the celebration.

Source: graphic.com.gh

The Ghana Investment Promotion Centre (GIPC) has signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) with Oxford Business Group (OBG) for its forthcoming publication dubbed: “The Report: Ghana 2018”. Under the MoU, GIPC, a longstanding partner of OBG, would contribute to the Group’s research for the publication.

A statement from OBG and copied to the Ghana News Agency said the forthcoming report would chart Ghana’s efforts at enhancing its investment environment through a raft of incentives and reforms.

The statement noted that the publication would explore the Government’s bid to promote industrialisation, especially in the manufacturing sector, where a drive to boost capacity is under way.

Mr Yofi Grant, the Chief Executive Officer of GIPC, said the Centre was working to improve Ghana’s competitiveness and business climate, both independently and within the Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS), by benchmarking it against international best practices.

In addition to pursuing macroeconomic stability, he said Ghana was also repositioning to be an economic hub for West Africa.

“One of Ghana’s primary goals in attracting investment is stimulating value addition in multiple sectors which, in turn, will produce a number of benefits, ranging from increased employment to capital accumulation.

“I look forward to exploring these and other developments that are helping to drive Ghana’s economy forward and once again sharing our findings with Oxford Business Group’s team,” Mr Grant added.

Ms Shadeh Van Esch, OBG’s Country Director, said she was confident that GIPC’s input would give investors a valuable understanding of emerging opportunities across all sectors, and improve the country’s business climate.

“Ghana’s efforts to facilitate investment are beginning to yield results, with the country ranking top among the West African nations for doing business, according to the 2017 Ease of Doing Business Report,” she said.

“GIPC plays a pivotal part in encouraging, promoting and facilitating inflows into the country, working to create an attractive incentive framework for businesses.

I am delighted that our team will once again benefit from the centre’s insight as we begin work on this important report,” Ms Van Esch noted.       

Other issues to be analysed include Ghana’s plans to leverage new technology and bolster connectivity as a means of heightening business activity.

OBG is a global research and consultancy company with a presence in over 35 countries in Africa, Asia, the Middle East and the Americas.

Source: ghananewsagency.org

President Nana Addo Dankwa Akufo-Addo, will on Friday launch his government’s flagship policy popularly termed ”One District One Factory” at Ekumfi in the Central Region.

The program will be the formal launch of the implementation of the One District One Factory policy.

This will be in fulfilment of a pledge by President Akufo-Addo to see the actualization of the industrialization of Ghana as part of the transformation process he envisages for the country.

The policy, when implemented will create the environment conducive for each local government areas to own factories relative to their well-endowed resources and capacity to provide jobs and wealth for the country.

The launch will include a sod-cutting to begin the construction of the Ekumfi Fruit Processing Company factory which will process pineapples for the local and international market. Currently the company cultivates the fruit and seeks to expand its operations into processing.

Managing Director of the company, Daniel Kwarteng, said, “The introduction of the policy has motivated us to speed up and implement our plans of processing the fruits into various other products”

The program starts with a formal visit by the President to the farm site of the company. This will be followed by a review of the exhibition highlighting some of the various opportunities available in the districts across the country.

The launch will be climaxed with a durbar to be addressed by the President and some invited guests.

This will be followed by a sod-cutting ceremony by the President assisted by the Ekumfihene, at the factory grounds.

Source: myjoyonline.com

The Federation of Indian Chamber of Commerce and Industry has applauded Ghana for creating a very attractive business environment for Indian businesses. It said the nation had lived up to its accolade as the gateway to Africa and West Africa in particular.

Mr. Susnato Sen, Head of the Africa Region and Senior Director of the Federation of Indian Chamber of Commerce and Industry (FICCI), made the remarks when he led a group of FICCI members to meet the Vice President Dr. Mahamudu Bawumia at the Flagstaff House in Accra, ahead of an Indian expo to be organised in the country.

“Ghana is a very attractive destination for us, because of your long history of stability and the business climate here. Stability is crucial for us, and we are happy to hold this expo here to interact with our Ghanaian counterparts and explore business opportunities,” Mr. Sen observed.The delegation was accompanied by Ambassador Michael A. N. N. Oquaye, Ghana’s High Commissioner to India.

The team is in the country as part of a three-day exposition dubbed: “Namaskar 2007”, which aims at branding India as a leading economic player and partner of the West African sub-region, to enhance a two-way trade relationship.The event is being organised by the FICCI, in collaboration with the Association of Ghana Industries (AGI) and the Ghana National Chamber of Commerce and Industry (GNCCI), which attracted more than 60 Indian companies.

The business expo has lined up other activities such as a two-day exhibition on agriculture and food processing, construction, power, technology and textiles, and education. Mr. Sen noted that the expo would help facilitate India investment drive in Ghana and neighbouring West African countries and create awareness about the best Indian technologies and products in the region as well as explore opportunities offered by the sub-region.He said: “Successful regional shows have already been held in the central and southern regions of Africa. ‘Namaskar Africa’ in Ghana focuses on the West Africa regional block”.

The Business Magnate noted that the expo targeted Ghana and thus, expected business delegations from neighbouring countries like Benin, Burkina Faso, Cameroon, Congo, Cote d’Ivoire, Nigeria, Senegal, Sierra-Leone and Togo. Vice President Bawumia recounted the historic relationship that existed between the two nations and urged the Indian delegation to take advantage of the pro-business agenda of the government.He said: “As we have stated from the very beginning, our government is pursuing an agenda of economic transformation based on strong private sector participation and anchored on sound economic fundamentals”.

According to the Vice President, there were space and opportunities for cooperation between the Ghanaian and Indian businesses and urged them to explore the many opportunities available in Ghana. “I’m sure members of the AGI and GNCCI will be ready to sit down with you and agree on mutually beneficial arrangements,” he stated.The Federation of Indian Chambers of Commerce and Industry is an association of business organisations in India.It was established in 1927 as a non-governmental organisation and draws its membership from the corporate sector, both private and public.

The Chamber has an indirect membership of more than 2,500,000 companies from various regional chambers of commerce.

Source: ghananewsagency.org